Against All Odds: The Kwan Gi-Ok Story

While serving 26 active years in the military and another 21 years in aerospace, I met many outstanding individuals, but none more so than a Korean lady named Miss Kwan Gi-Ok.

It was October 10, 1971, and Taiwan was celebrating the 60th anniversary of a very important Chinese holiday called,“Double Ten.” The name is due to the fact that it is always held on the tenth day of the tenth month (October) of the year. Actually it’s in celebration of the overthrow of the Manchu rule of the Ching Dynasty that ruled China for 268 years (1644 to 1911). The Nationalist claim the overthrow was inspired by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and is sometimes referred to as the Wuchang Uprising.

At the time, I was serving a United States Air attaché tour on the island and was invited to several official functions associated with the celebration. It was during one of these functions that I had the good fortune to meet Miss Kwan Gi-Ok.

She was there as the honored guest of the Chinese Air Force (CAF), due to her many unforgettable accomplishments while serving as its first female pilot. Gen. Lai Ming-tang, a CAF four-star general, who at the time was Chief of General Staff, Ministry of National Defense (MND), Republic of China (ROC), on behalf of the Air Force, personally invited Miss Kwan Gi-Ok.

My initial discussion with Miss Kwan led to several interviews resulting in the following fascinating account of her life. She also gave me photos of two of the aircraft she flew during her flight training in China. Although the quality of these pictures is not good, I think you will find them interesting.

In 1923, when Miss Kwan was a student pilot, airplanes were very primitive and man still had much to learn about this new mode of transportation. Anyone who chose to become a pilot was thought to be nothing more than a daredevil. The sky was still the domain for only the strong and bold who appeared to be fearless by their earth bound brothers. It was during this challenging period that Miss Kwan Gi-Ok graduated from a Chinese military flight program and became China’s first female military pilot.

Ms. Kwan’s interesting story of courage and determination begins with her birth in Pyong-Yang, Korea, during the year 1901. Records in Korea state that Ms. Kwan was born in 1903, but on two occasions, in 1971, she told me that she was born in 1901. Her childhood was fairly uneventful until the Japanese annexed Korea in 1910. Although Ms. Kwan was only nine years old at the time, this historical event obviously influenced the course of her life significantly. For example, in 1919, when this patriotic lady was only 18 years old, she joined an anti-Japanese resistance group called“The Korea Political Freedom Movement.” Due to her activities associated with this organization, she was arrested by the Japanese and put in jail for approximately three weeks. Upon her release from jail, she was warned by her captors not to become involved in any future political activities.

Ignoring the warnings, Ms. Kwan soon contacted, and began working with “The South Korean Temporary Government Intelligence Organization.” Again, she was captured and this time spent six months in a Japanese prison before being released.

Obviously, the Japanese underestimated this young woman’s courage, dedication and love for freedom, because it was not long before she once again was taking part in anti-Japanese activities.

Soon after her release in 1920, and at great personal risk, she helped to establish what was known as“The Young Ladies War Organization.” To mislead the Japanese, this group operated as a missionary organization.

When the Japanese became aware of her renewed underground exploits, they issued another warrant for her arrest. Ms. Kwan’s life was now in grave jeopardy, leaving her no alternative but to flee Korea, preferably to a country where she could continue to support the Korean resistance movement.

Initially, her attempts to leave Korea were unsuccessful, but after several weeks a close friend was able to arrange Ms. Kwan’s escape by slipping her . . .